Maxx Alexander briefly considered leaving the Bangor football team during the opening days of preseason practice.
He’s glad he didn’t.
Alexander, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound senior fullback, is making the most of his first full year of competition in the sport while helping the Rams get off to a 3-0 start this season.
He rushed for a career-high 112 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries Friday night during Bangor’s 39-8 victory over Cony of Augusta, and his presence as a blocker has helped senior tailback Lonnie Hackett emerge as one of the top ground-gainers in the state with nearly 700 yards in three games.
“He brings a whole new asset to our team,” said head coach Mark Hackett. “Not many teams have a 230-pound fullback to use either running the football or blocking, and he’s been great.”
Alexander has roots in Bangor — one of his uncles is a former Rams football captain — and he and his family moved to the Queen City last fall from Clearwater, Fla., where he did not play football while attending Countryside High School, a school of some 3,500 students.
But Alexander joined the Bangor football program midway through the season, and Hackett immediately saw some promise.
“He was with us three weeks at the end of the season, and he played tight end and defensive end,” said coach Hackett. “By the end of the three weeks we thought he was going to be a player.”
Alexander went on to have a productive winter with the Bangor boys varsity basketball team, helping the Rams advance to the Eastern Maine Class A semifinals.
Despite that success, he still had doubts when it came time to return to the football program in mid-August.
“If you come into practice out of shape, you’ve got to expect that it’s going to be tough,” said Alexander, who approached Hackett on at least one occasion about dropping off the team. “But I got through it.”
Alexander, shifted to fullback to capitalize on his combination of size, strength and quickness, now is an integral part of a balanced Bangor offense that has averaged 44.3 points in victories over Skowhegan, Mount Ararat of Topsham and Cony.
Alexander suffered a sprained knee during Bangor’s season-opening 41-12 win over Skowhegan, but has battled through that injury to display steady improvement to his coach.
“We say that it’s a [learning] curve and it’s constantly going up for him,” said coach Hackett. “It flames off once in a while like it did a few weeks ago when he got hurt. He sprained his knee a little bit and has a brace on it, and he found out that football’s going to feel a little different on the legs than basketball.”
Against Cony there were no signs of any lingering knee problems, just evidence of him becoming one more piece of Bangor’s explosive offensive puzzle.
“We run a series of option plays that fakes the defense out and gives me a chance to run up through the hole,” said Alexander. “Our line does an amazing job, so that makes it easier for me.”
One 100-yard game doesn’t make a career, and Alexander understands there’s much more room for improvement.
“Probably run blocking,” he said. “Lonnie’s obviously the key in our run offense and I’ve come a long way on run blocking, but it still needs to improve.”
And Alexander’s biggest contribution to a Bangor football team with high aspirations likely is still a few weeks away — when the crispness of early fall gives way to the cold and mud of postseason.
“When you have a big strong running back like Maxx, when the weather changes and gets gunky, it complements the quickness we have with Lonnie,” said coach Hackett. “And when it’s good weather or on turf, size and quickness both come into play, too, and we have both those aspects.
“We also have a big quarterback [Joe Seccareccia] and good receivers, so I just think it’s going to be tough to game-plan us.”
Rams, Broncos set to collide
The first of two regular-season clashes between two of the top boys’ soccer teams in Eastern Maine is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday on the artificial turf at the Weatherbee Complex in Hampden.
Defending Eastern Maine Class A champion Bangor visits undefeated Hampden Academy in a battle of teams with identical 6-0 records after shutout victories Tuesday evening.
Bangor shut down Lawrence of Fairfield 5-0, while Hampden edged Brewer 1-0.
Bangor enters Thursday’s match not only undefeated, but also unscored upon. Coach David Patterson’s club has outscored Brewer, Messalonskee of Oakland, Mt. Blue of Farmington, Waterville, Skowhegan and Lawrence by a combined 29-0.
Hampden Academy has been nearly as dominant, outscoring those same foes 25-6.
Bangor’s offense is led by senior striker Nick George, who has a team-high nine goals and five assists. Junior Phil Frost (five goals, five assists), senior Brian Loiselle (three goals, team-leading six assists), and junior Luke Hetterman (three goals, two assists) have been other offensive catalysts.
Senior Cody Cormier (three goals, two assists) has been a midfield standout for the Rams along with junior Jacques Larochelle, while seniors Kyle Savage, Colby Treadwell, Brandon Landry and Clark Noonan have anchored the defense in front of senior goalie Bud Angst.
HA’s offense has featured junior striker Graham Safford.
Safford, who transferred to Hampden last spring after helping Camden Hills of Rockport reach the 2008 Eastern Maine Class B final, had 13 goals in his first five games, then set up the game-winner in Tuesday’s win against Brewer.
Safford has worked well in tandem with senior striker Brad Dolan, who has three goals and a team-leading four assists for coach Josh Stevens’ club.
Corey Grover (three goals, two assists) and Ryan Cole (two goals, one assists) have been other key point producers for Hampden.
Senior captains Sam Morris and Grant Aylward anchor the midfield play, while fellow captains Jake Hereen and Austin Michaud have sparked the defense in front of sophomore goalie Logan Poirier.
Bangor has won the last three meetings between these teams, all last season by identical 3-0 scores — the final time in the Eastern A quarterfinals.
While Bangor is 50-3-3 since the start of the 2006 season, two of those losses have come to Hampden, during the 2006 regular season and during the 2007 regional quarterfinals — the Rams’ only losses to an Eastern Maine team during that span.
Bangor and Hampden will meet again in Bangor on Oct. 20 in the final regular-season game for both teams.
Football grants available
USA Football, the sport’s national governing body on youth and amateur levels, announced that it will award $1 million in equipment grants to youth and high school football programs across America this fall based on merit and need.
USA Football’s grant program has assisted the youth and high school football community since 2006 and will have distributed more than $2 million through 2009. USA Football is the official youth football development partner of the NFL, its 32 teams and the NFL Players Association.
Youth leagues and high schools may apply for grants on usafootball.com through Oct. 15 at 5 p.m.
Each youth league is eligible for a $1,000 package that includes equipment and apparel from Riddell and Under Armour. High schools will earn similar packages valued at $1,500. Eligible youth football leagues must be a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
“This program helps youth football leagues and high school programs continue to make a positive impact in their communities through America’s favorite sport,” said USA Football executive director Scott Hallenback in a press release.
“Even with multiple fundraisers and registration fees, some organizations struggle to properly equip their teams. We’re proud to foster great football experiences and we’re happy that our national partners — Riddell and Under Armour — share our vision.”
USA Football’s equipment grant program is made possible through the NFL Youth Football Fund, a nonprofit foundation created by the NFL and NFL Players Association in 1998.
